Image manipulation

ABSTRACT

A method includes displaying an image on a first area of a touch-sensitive electronic display and receiving touch input on a second area of the display, comprising the first area. A gesture type is detected from the touch input by detecting a larger component of motion of the touch input along one of first and second axes of the display than along the other of the axes. Detecting a second gesture type comprises detecting a larger component of motion of the touch input along the other of the axes than along the one of the axes. If the gesture type is the first gesture type, a display characteristic of the image is adjusted, during displaying the image. If the gesture type is the second gesture type, the display ceases to display the image and displays a further image. A computing system is provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) and 37 CFR §1.55 to United Kingdom Application No. GB 1616720.7, filed Sep. 30,2016. The entire contents of the above-referenced patent application arehereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to a method and a computing system formanipulating an image.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED TECHNOLOGY

A software application is known that allows a captured image to beprocessed after capture. For example, the image can be modified asdesired by a user and a modified version of the image can be saved forfuture use. It is desirable to provide a method of manipulating an imagethat is intuitive and more flexible than the method of the knownsoftware application.

SUMMARY

A first aspect provides a method including displaying an image on afirst area of a touch-sensitive electronic display, the touch-sensitiveelectronic display including a first axis and a second axis which isorthogonal to the first axis. The method includes receiving touch inputon a second area of the touch-sensitive electronic display, the secondarea including the first area. The method includes detecting, from thetouch input, a gesture type which is one of a plurality of detectablegesture types. The plurality of detectable gesture types includes afirst gesture type and a second gesture type. Detecting the firstgesture type includes detecting a larger component of motion of thetouch input along one of the first and second axes of thetouch-sensitive electronic display than along the other of the first andsecond axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display and detecting thesecond gesture type includes detecting a larger component of motion ofthe touch input along the other of the first and second axes of thetouch-sensitive electronic display than along the one of the first andsecond axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display. If the detectedgesture type is the first gesture type, the method includes adjusting,during the displaying the image, a display characteristic of the imagein dependence on at least one detected characteristic of the motion ofthe touch input, and displaying a further image on the touch-sensitiveelectronic display.

A second aspect provides a computing system including a computing deviceand a touch-sensitive electronic display coupled to the computingdevice. The touch-sensitive electronic display includes a first axis, asecond axis which is orthogonal to the first axis, a first area and asecond area. The second area includes the first area. The computingdevice includes storage, at least one processor communicatively coupledto the storage, an image displaying module configured to display theimage on the first area of the touch-sensitive electronic display, and agesture type detection module configured to detect, from a touch inputon the second area of the touch-sensitive electronic display, a gesturetype which is one of a plurality of detectable gesture types, theplurality of detectable gesture types including a first gesture type anda second gesture type. Detecting the first gesture type includesdetecting a larger component of motion of the touch input along one ofthe first and second axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display thanalong the other of the first and second axes of the touch-sensitiveelectronic display. Detecting the second gesture type includes detectinga larger component of motion of the touch input along the other of thefirst and second axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display thanalong the one of the first and second axes of the touch-sensitiveelectronic display. The computing device further includes a displaycharacteristic adjustment module configured to, if the detected gesturetype is the first gesture type, adjust, during displaying the image onthe first area of the electronic display, a display characteristic ofthe image in dependence on at least one detected characteristic of themotion of the touch input. The computing device further including animage switching module configured to, if the detected gesture type isthe second gesture type, cease displaying the image on thetouch-sensitive electronic display and display a further image on thetouch-sensitive electronic display.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various features of the present disclosure will be apparent from thedetailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of exampleonly, features of the present disclosure, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a method according to examples;

FIGS. 2a and 2b illustrate schematically an example of a first gesturetype;

FIGS. 3a and 3b illustrate schematically an example of a second gesturetype;

FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate schematically an example of a third gesturetype;

FIGS. 5a and 5b illustrate schematically an example of a fourth gesturetype;

FIGS. 6a and 6b illustrate schematically a further example of the thirdgesture type;

FIG. 7 illustrates schematically a further example of the first gesturetype; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of internal componentsof a computing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Details of the method according to examples will become apparent fromthe following description, with reference to the FIGS. In thisdescription, for the purpose of explanation, numerous specific detailsof certain examples are set forth. Reference in the specification to “anexample” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure,or characteristic described in connection with the example is includedin at least that one example, but not necessarily in other examples. Itshould further be noted that certain examples are describedschematically with certain features omitted and/or necessarilysimplified for ease of explanation and understanding of the conceptsunderlying the examples. For example, in certain cases, a description ofconventional features is simplified or omitted in order to provide aconcise explanation of the method according to examples.

Examples described herein provide a method of manipulating an image,which may for example be implemented using a computing device orcomputing system. The image may be the entire or whole image or aportion, part or subset of a larger image. The image is for example animage from a web page accessed by a browser of the computing device,such as a browser of a smartphone; an image captured by an image capturedevice, such as a camera, of the computing device; or an imagedownloaded to or stored in storage of the computing device. The imagemay include any graphical or visual content, for example text, graphics,pictures, and/or photographs. The image may be represented by image datain any suitable format. Common formats include the JPEG (JointPhotographic Experts Group, ISO/IEC 10918) format, which is typically an8-bit format, or the JPEG XT (ISO/IEC 18477) format, which is typicallya more than 8-bit format.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating the method according to examples.The method of FIG. 1 includes displaying an image on a first area of atouch-sensitive electronic display. The touch-sensitive electronicdisplay is for example a display device of or coupled to a computingdevice, which is capable of receiving input via a user's touch on thedisplay itself. For example, the touch-sensitive electronic display maybe the screen of a smartphone. The touch-sensitive electronic displayhas a first axis and a second axis which is orthogonal to the firstaxis.

The method of FIG. 1 further includes receiving touch input on a secondarea of the touch-sensitive electronic display. The second area includesthe first area. The touch input is for example a touch of a body part ofa user, such as one or more fingers or a hand, or a touch of animplement such as a stylus.

In the example of FIG. 1, the method includes detecting, from the touchinput, a gesture type. A gesture type for example corresponds with apredetermined movement, motion, location or position of the touch input.The gesture type is one of a plurality of detectable gesture typesincluding a first gesture type and a second gesture type. Detecting thefirst gesture type includes detecting a larger component of motion ofthe touch input along one of the first and second axes of thetouch-sensitive electronic display than along the other of the first andsecond axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display. Detecting thesecond gesture type includes detecting a larger component of motion ofthe touch input along the other of the first and second axes of thetouch-sensitive electronic display than along the one of the first andsecond axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display.

If the detected gesture type is the first gesture type, the method ofFIG. 1 includes adjusting, during the displaying the image, a displaycharacteristic of the image in dependence on at least one detectedcharacteristic of the motion of the touch input. If the detected gesturetype is the second gesture type, the method of FIG. 1 includes ceasingto display the image on the touch-sensitive electronic display; anddisplaying a further image on the touch-sensitive electronic display.

Example methods such as the method of FIG. 1 therefore allow the displaycharacteristic of the image to be changed using a touch inputcorresponding to the first gesture type, which is for example differentfrom the second gesture type. These methods therefore provide the userwith a straightforward and intuitive way to both alter a displaycharacteristic of the image and to switch between displaying differentimages on the touch-sensitive electronic display. For example, the usercan interact with the touch-sensitive electronic display using a touchinput corresponding to the first gesture type to alter the displaycharacteristic of the image and can use a touch input corresponding tothe second gesture type to move the image off screen and display adifferent image instead. The user therefore has multiple options formanipulating the image, for example by altering properties of the imageitself or by ceasing to display the image and displaying a furtherimage.

The display characteristic of the image can be changed while the imageis displayed, without for example saving a modified copy of the image.In this way, by using the first gesture type, the user can flexiblyalter the display characteristic of the image in real time, for examplewithout having to save and re-load the image. This can allow the imageto be manipulated more straightforwardly than known methods that involvesaving a copy of a modified image. The method according to examples cantherefore improve a viewing experience for a user, as the user canadjust the display characteristic of the image at will. For example, auser can adjust the display characteristic as needed if the user movesfrom a high brightness location, e.g. outside, in sunlight, to a lowbrightness location, e.g. in a dark room. The method also allowsdifferent users to adjust the image differently depending on their ownpreferences. For example, a first user may adjust the displaycharacteristic to a particular level that he or she considers torepresent an optimal or desired level, and then a second user of thesame computing device may further adjust the display characteristic to alevel that suits him or her, merely by using a touch input correspondingto the first gesture type.

FIGS. 2a and 2b illustrate schematically an example of the first gesturetype. FIGS. 2a and 2b each show a computing device 100, which in thisexample is a smartphone. Internal components of an example computingdevice such as the computing device 100 of FIGS. 2a and 2b are describedin further detail with reference to FIG. 8 below.

The smartphone 100 has a touch-sensitive electronic display 102. Thetouch-sensitive electronic display 102 has a first area 104. An image isdisplayed on the first area 104. In the example of FIGS. 2a and 2b , theimage includes an image of a star 106. The first area 104 may correspondwith an extent of an image being displayed by the touch-sensitiveelectronic display; for example, a boundary or border of the first area104 may correspond with the boundary or border of the image asdisplayed. FIGS. 2a and 2b show such an example; in FIGS. 2a and 2b ,the outer edge or extremity of the image is aligned with the edge of thefirst area 104, such that the image completely fills the first area 104.Alternatively, the first area 104 may be larger or smaller than theimage.

The touch-sensitive electronic display 102 in examples such as that ofFIGS. 2a and 2b also includes a second area, on which touch input can bereceived. For example, the second area may correspond with an area ofthe touch-sensitive electronic display that is responsive to a touchinput, such as an area of the touch-sensitive electronic display inwhich a touchscreen is present.

In examples such as that of FIGS. 2a and 2b , the second area iscoincident with the first area 104. For example, the second area may bethe same as the first area. In other examples, however, the first areamay be smaller than the second area, for example where the extent of thefirst area corresponds with the extent of the image and where the secondarea is an entire or whole touch-sensitive area of the smartphonedisplay screen, which includes the first area. For example, the part ofthe second area not overlapped by the first area may correspond with orinclude a border area, which may partly or fully surround the firstarea. Such a border area may be a plain border area, for exampleincluding a plain or neutral color such as black or grey, or the borderarea may contain other images or icons such as icons to interact withthe computing device, e.g. a home icon to go back to a home screen, or aback icon to revert to a previously used application.

FIG. 2a shows a touch input 108 on the second area of thetouch-sensitive electronic display 102 (which in this examplecorresponds with the first area 104). The touch input 108 in thisexample corresponds with pressure applied to the touch-sensitiveelectronic display 102 in the circled region labelled 108, which is forexample applied by a finger of a user.

FIG. 2b shows movement of the touch input 108 from a first location 110on the second area to a second location 112 on the second area along apath 114. In the example of FIG. 2b , the path 114 is substantiallyvertical (for example within 5 or 10 degrees of the vertical), althoughin other examples the path, first and/or second locations may bedifferent from those of FIG. 2b . The touch-sensitive electronic display102 of FIG. 2b has a first axis 116 and a second axis 118, which areshown in the Figure to the side of the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay 102, for clarity. In examples such as FIG. 2b , the first axis116 is substantially vertical, e.g. vertical, and the second axis 118 issubstantially horizontal, e.g. horizontal, although in other examples,axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display may be at differentorientations. Typically, however, the first axis 116 is orthogonal tothe second axis 118.

From the touch input 108, a gesture type is detected. In FIG. 2b , thegesture type is a first gesture type, with motion of the touch input 106along the first axis 116. In examples such as FIG. 2b , a touch input108 is considered or detected to be a first gesture type if a largercomponent of motion of the touch input is along the first axis 116 thanalong the second axis 118. For example, the touch input may be angledwith respect to the first axis 116, with a first component of motionalong the first axis 116 and a second component of motion along thesecond axis 118. In these cases, where the touch input has components ofmotion along each of the first and second axes 116, 118, the touch inputmay be detected to correspond to the first gesture type where the firstcomponent of motion is larger, for example with a greater magnitude,than the second component of motion. In other examples, though, thetouch input may not have a component of motion along both axes; forexample, the touch input may be solely along the first axis 116 orsolely along the second axis 118. In such examples, touch input solelyalong the first axis 116 may be detected to be the first gesture type.For example, the first gesture type may be a swipe or sliding movementof the touch input which is substantially along the first axis 116, forexample with a greater magnitude along the first axis 116 than along thesecond axis 118.

In response to detecting that the touch input 108 corresponds with thefirst gesture type, a display characteristic of the image including thestar 106 is adjusted during the displaying of the image, so that theproperties of the image change in real time. In the example of FIGS. 2aand 2b , the display characteristic of the star 106 of FIG. 2a isadjusted based on detecting that the touch input 108 is of the firstgesture type so as to display an adjusted star 106′ in FIG. 2b . Theadjusted star 106′ is outlined with a solid line in FIG. 2b rather thana dashed line in FIG. 2a to indicate schematically that the displaycharacteristic of the star has changed between FIGS. 2a and 2 b.

The display characteristic of the image may be adjusted in dependence onat least one detected characteristic of the motion of the touch input.The at least one detected characteristic of the motion of the touchinput may include at least one of a length of the touch input or adirection of the touch input. For example, the length of the touch inputmay be used to determine the magnitude or amount by which the displaycharacteristic is to be altered and the direction of the touch input maybe used to determine the direction in which the display characteristicis to be altered, e.g. whether the display characteristic is to beincreased or decreased. In other examples, though, the at least onedetected characteristic of the motion of the touch input may includeother features or properties of the motion of the touch input such asthe number of points of contact of the touch input with thetouch-sensitive electronic display, e.g. corresponding to the number offingers or implements touching the display, a degree of rotation of thetouch input, an orientation of the touch input, a velocity oracceleration of the touch input, or a pressure applied to thetouch-sensitive electronic display by the touch input.

Display characteristics that may be adjusted based on the touch input ofthe first gesture type may include any visible properties, features orattributes of the image. In examples, the display characteristic thatmay be adjusted based on a detected first gesture type includes at leastone of a brightness of the image, a gamma correction strength of a gammacorrection applied to the image, a saturation of the image, or a tonemapping strength of a tone mapping applied to the image.

A brightness of a pixel of an image is for example an arithmetic mean ofthe red, green and blue color coordinates or color channel intensityvalues in the red, green and blue (RGB) color space for that pixel.Alternatively, in the HSV (hue, saturation, value; sometimes referred toas hue, saturation, brightness, HSB) color space, the brightness of apixel may be taken as the value, size or magnitude of the value orbrightness coordinate. The brightness of the image may be consideredgenerally as the relative lightness of the image and typically dependson the brightness of the pixels of the image. For example, the imagebrightness be an average or mean of the pixel brightnesses.

Adjusting the brightness for example can darken or brighten the image aswhole, for example by decreasing or increasing the brightness of imagepixels. For example, altering the brightness may involve shifting thebrightness for each of the pixels of the image by the same amount. Thedirection of the shift, for example whether the image is darkened orbrightened, may be controlled based on the direction of the touch input.In some examples, the image may be darkened by a downward movement ofthe touch input, for example from an upper to a lower location on thesecond are of the touch-sensitive electronic display, and lightened orbrightened by an upward movement of the touch input. The amount by whichthe image is darkened or brightened may depend on the length of themovement of the touch input, with long movements, with a larger distancebetween the location at which the touch input first contacts the secondarea of the touch-sensitive electronic display and the location at whichthe movement ceases or halts, corresponding with a larger magnitudechange in brightness. For example, the movement may be considered tocease or halt at the point or location on the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay where the touch input ceases to contact the touch-sensitiveelectronic display, or when the touch input remains stationary at aparticular point or location on the touch-sensitive electronic displayfor a time period longer than a predetermined time period.

Gamma correction is typically a non-linear operation that may be definedusing the following power-law expression:V _(out) =AV _(in) ^(γ)  (1)

where Vout is an output value, A is a constant, Vin is an input valueand γ is a gamma value. The input and output values are for exampleluminance or tristimulus values of pixels of the image.

The detected at least one characteristic of the touch input may be usedto control or alter the γ-value in Equation 1. For example, a particulardirection of motion, such as an upward motion, of the touch input maycorrespond with an increase in the γ-value and a different direction ofmotion of the touch input, such as a downward motion, may correspondwith a decrease in the γ-value. The γ-value may be altered by an amountor magnitude corresponding to the length of the motion of the touchinput.

Saturation is for example one of the coordinates in the HSL (hue,saturation, lightness) and HSV or HSB color spaces. The saturation maybe understood intuitively as the relative bandwidth of a color of apixel in wavelength space. For example, a highly saturated color maycorrespond to a color with a narrow bandwidth, which is highly peaked inwavelength space. In contrast, a color with a low saturation may have alarge bandwidth, which may appear more “washed out”.

The saturation may be adjusted in dependence on the at least onecharacteristic of the motion of the touch input similarly to adjustmentof the brightness or gamma correction strength, with a direction of themotion indicating or determining whether the saturation is to beincreased or decreased and a length of the motion determining the amountor magnitude by which the saturation is to be altered.

Tone mapping typically refers to a process by which a dynamic range ofan image is adjusted to enhance the quality of an image, where thedynamic range is generally understood to refer to the ratio betweenintensities of the brightest and darkest parts of an image or scene. Forexample, tone mapping can be used to enhance detail or contrast in theimage, while still ensuring the image appears relatively “natural” to anobserver. To do this, the tone mapping may be asymmetric in thebrightness domain, such that a greater amount of tone mapping is appliedto dark regions of the image than relatively bright regions, for exampleby altering an intensity value of relatively dark portions of the imageto a greater extent than relatively bright portions. This mimics thebehavior of the human eye, which has a relatively high dynamic range,and which is capable of seeing detail in even relatively dark regions ofan image. Tone mapping applied to the image may therefore bespatially-variant, for example spatially non-uniform, with a greateramount of tone mapping applied to certain spatial regions of the imagecompared with other spatial regions, although spatially-invariant oruniform tone mapping is also possible. The tone mapping may becontinuous and smoothly-varying in both spatial and luminancedimensions. The intensity range of pixels corresponding with detail topreserve in the image in dark and/or light areas may therefore beincreased and the intensity range of other areas of the image may bedecreased. The amount of tone mapping may correspond with the extent ormagnitude of alteration of the intensity value of pixels in the image bythe tone mapping, for example to enhance the image detail as explainedabove.

The dynamic range may be compressed or expanded by the tone mapping.Dynamic range compression can be used to reduce the dynamic range of theimage to match or be closer to a dynamic range displayable by thetouch-sensitive electronic display, for example. Images captured using acamera can have a high dynamic range of for example up to around 4000:1.In contrast, the dynamic range of typical display devices may be muchlower than this, for example around 50:1. Dynamic range compression cantherefore be applied to reduce a dynamic range of image datarepresenting a high dynamic range image to match a lower dynamic rangeof the touch-sensitive electronic display for displaying the image.

Conversely, dynamic range expansion can be used to increase a dynamicrange of the image, for example in cases where the dynamic rangedisplayable by the touch-sensitive electronic display is larger than adynamic range of the image data representing the image to be displayed.

A suitable tone mapping algorithm is the Orthogonal Retina-Morphic ImageTransform (ORMIT) algorithm, although various other, different, tonemapping algorithms are also suitable.

In examples, a tone mapping strength of a tone mapping to applied to theimage may be adjusted in dependence on the at least one characteristicof the motion of the touch input. For example, the tone mapping strengthmay be increased or decreased depending on a direction of the motion andby an amount or magnitude depending on a length of the motion of thetouch input, similarly to adjustment of the brightness, gamma correctionstrength and saturation as described above. The tone mapping strengthmay for example take a value between 0 and 1, which may represent anamount of spatially-variant tone mapping, such as an amount or magnitudeby which each pixel's intensity or brightness is altered by the tonemapping. The tone mapping strength itself may be different for differentpixels in the image, in order to achieve an amount of tone mapping whichvaries across the image. For example, the tone mapping strength may varyin accordance with pixel intensity so that the tone mapping is stronger(for example with a higher strength) in darker parts of the image withlow pixel intensity values, and is weaker in brighter parts of theimage. This allows stronger enhancement of the shadows without affectingthe bright regions. In such cases, the tone mapping strength may not beuniformly changed or altered by the touch input. For example, the tonemapping strength may be adjusted using a formula, such that the tonemapping strength is adjusted more or less depending on pixel intensityvalues. In examples in which the tone mapping uses the ORMIT algorithm,the tone mapping strength is the ORMIT α parameter.

In examples, the first gesture type may adjust solely one of the displaycharacteristics of the image, for example solely the tone mappingstrength, solely the brightness, solely the gamma correction strength orsolely the saturation of the image. In such examples, the method mayadditionally include receiving a further touch input to switch betweendisplay characteristic adjustment modes. For example, the user may beable to supply a particular touch input corresponding with a particulargesture of the plurality of detectable gesture types in order to switchbetween a mode in which the first gesture type adjusts the tone mappingstrength to a different mode in which the first gesture type adjusts thebrightness. The particular touch input may involve touching a particularregion of the second area, such as a region corresponding with a givenicon. For example, the user may be able to click on an iconcorresponding with a “tone mapping adjustment” mode, or an iconcorresponding with a “brightness adjustment” mode or other iconscorresponding to other display characteristics in order to switchbetween these modes, to allow each of various display characteristics tobe adjusted in turn.

In the example of FIGS. 2a and 2b , the display characteristic of theimage is adjusted by a touch input on the image itself, which is in thefirst area 104 (corresponding to the second area). However, in otherexamples, the first gesture type may correspond with a touch input on aregion of the second area outside the first area, for example a borderarea of the second area. In such cases, the touch input may be a touchinput on a particular icon in the border area. For example, the borderarea may include respective images of a scale and a slider, which ismoveable on screen relative to the scale. A position of the slider onthe scale may be altered in dependence on the touch input to control thedisplay characteristic of the image.

An output display characteristic based on the adjusting the displaycharacteristic of the image may be stored and a subsequent image may bedisplayed with a subsequent image display characteristic based on theoutput display characteristic. In this way, the previously-obtainedsettings, which typically correspond with a user preference, may besaved and re-used to display future images. This can allow subsequentimages to be displayed with the same or a corresponding displaycharacteristic as the image, for example allowing a direct comparisonbetween two different images with the same display characteristic.However, as the display characteristic of the subsequent image may alsobe adjusted using a touch input corresponding to the first gesture type,as described above for the image with respect to FIGS. 2a and 2b , thisprovides additional flexibility for the viewing of the subsequent image.

The output display characteristic may be stored in an image fileincluding image data representing the image. For example, the outputdisplay characteristic may be stored as metadata associated with theimage data. For example, where the image file is in the form of a JPEG,the output display characteristic may be stored in the ExchangeableImage File Format (EXIF). The EXIF data may be embedded within the imagefile itself, for example within the JPEG file. Typically, EXIF data isstored in a header of the JPEG. For example, EXIF data may be stored inone of the utility Application Segments of the JPEG, generally the APP1(segment marker 0xFFE1), although other segments may be used.

By storing the output display characteristic in the image file includingthe image data representing the image, the method in examples allowsfurther images to be generated based on the image data and the outputdisplay characteristic, from data contained within the image fileitself. This allows the display characteristic, and hence the visualimpression, of the image to be reproduced at different times, forexample in different viewing conditions, or by different computingdevices, based on the image file.

FIGS. 3a and 3b illustrate schematically an example of the secondgesture type on the smartphone 100 shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b . Featuresof FIGS. 3a and 3b that are the same as corresponding features of FIGS.2a and 2b are labelled with the same reference numerals; correspondingdescriptions should be taken to apply. Features of FIGS. 3a and 3b thatare similar to but not the same as corresponding features of FIGS. 2aand 2b are labelled with the same reference numerals but incremented by100; corresponding descriptions should nevertheless be taken to apply.

FIG. 3a shows a touch input 208 on the second area of thetouch-sensitive electronic display 102 (which corresponds with the firstarea 104 in this example). The touch input 208 is moved in FIG. 3b froma first location 210 on the second area to a second location on thesecond area along a path 214. In the example of FIG. 3b , the path 214is substantially horizontal (for example within 5 or 10 degrees of thehorizontal).

A gesture type is detected from the touch input 208, which in FIG. 3b isa second gesture type. In examples such as FIG. 3b , a touch input 208is considered or detected to be a second gesture type if a largercomponent of motion of the touch input 208 is along the second axis 118than along the first axis 116. In FIG. 3b , the path 214 is along thesecond axis 118. Therefore the motion of the touch input 208 is entirelyor wholly along the second axis 118, and the component of motion of thetouch input 208 along the first axis 116 is zero. In further examples,though, the touch input 208 may have a respective non-zero componentalong each of the first and second axes 116, 118, with a largermagnitude component along the second axis 118 than along the first axis116.

Thus, in examples, the first gesture type differs from the secondgesture type in that a touch input corresponding to the first gesturetype has a larger component of motion along a different axis than thesecond gesture type. In this example, a touch input with a largercomponent of motion in a vertical direction (along the first axis 116)is associated with the first gesture type and a touch input with alarger component of motion in a horizontal direction (along the secondaxis 118) is associated with the second gesture type. Touch inputscorresponding respectively with the first gesture type and the secondgesture type may be otherwise identical. Alternatively, these touchinputs may differ from each other in one or more other respects.

In response to detecting that the touch input 208 of FIG. 3b correspondswith the second gesture type, the touch-sensitive electronic displayceases to display the image and instead displays a further image, forexample a different image than the originally displayed image. In thisway, touch input 208 corresponding to the second gesture type may beused to switch between displaying various different images on thetouch-sensitive electronic display.

In examples such as that of FIG. 3b , the ceasing to display the imageon the touch-sensitive electronic display includes moving the image offthe touch-sensitive electronic display along the other of the first andsecond axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display than the one ofthe first and second axes with a larger component of motion of a touchinput of the first gesture type. This illustrated in FIG. 3b , whichshows the image including the star 106 being moved off screen along thesecond axis 118, whereas the first gesture type has a larger componentof motion of the touch input along the first axis 116. FIG. 3b shows asnapshot of a position of the image partway through the moving of theimage. Subsequently, the image will continue moving leftwards, along thesecond axis 118, until the touch-sensitive electronic display no longerdisplays the image and solely displays the further image 120. Inexamples, the image may be moved off screen smoothly along the secondaxis 118, although in other examples the movement of the image offscreen may be more sudden or jerky.

FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate schematically an example of a third gesturetype on the smartphone 100 shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b . Features of FIGS.4a and 4b that are the same as corresponding features of FIGS. 2a and 2bare labelled with the same reference numerals; correspondingdescriptions should be taken to apply.

In examples, such as that of FIGS. 4a and 4b , the smartphone 100 has atleast a first display mode and a second display mode. The first displaymode is, for example, a non-zoomed-in display mode, such as a modeillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the second display mode is, forexample, a zoomed-in display mode, illustrated in FIGS. 4a and 4b . Thiscan be seen by comparing the size of the star 106 in FIG. 2a with thestar 106 of FIG. 4a ; the star 106 is larger in FIG. 4a because theimage is zoomed-in in FIG. 4a . A zoomed-in display mode is thus, forexample, a display mode in which content to be displayed is scaled, forexample increased in size.

In such examples, the first gesture type and the second gesture type maybe detectable in the first display mode for the image and a thirdgesture type may be detectable in the second display mode for the image.If the detected gesture type is the third gesture type, the displaycharacteristic of the image may be adjusted, during the displaying theimage, in dependence on at least one detected characteristic of themotion of the touch input, for example similarly to the adjustment ofthe display characteristic upon detection of the first gesture type.

Features or properties of the touch input corresponding respectively tothe first gesture type and the third gesture type may be the same,except that the first gesture type is detectable in the first displaymode and the third gesture type is detectable in the second displaymode. FIGS. 4a and 4b show such an example. As can be seen by comparingFIGS. 2b and 4b , the motion of the touch input 108 in these Figures isthe same, and has the same effect of adjusting the displaycharacteristic of the image.

However, in other examples in which the plurality of detectable gesturetypes include a fourth gesture type which is detectable during thezoomed-in display mode, a given touch input, if received during thenon-zoomed-in display mode, is detected as the first gesture type and,if received during the zoomed-in display mode, is detected as the fourthgesture type. In these examples, detecting the third gesture type mayinclude detecting an additional touch input compared to detecting thefirst gesture type.

FIGS. 5a and 5b illustrate schematically an example of the fourthgesture type. Features of FIGS. 5a and 5b that are the same ascorresponding features of FIGS. 2a and 2b are labelled with the samereference numerals; corresponding descriptions should be taken to apply.Features of FIGS. 5a and 5b that are similar to but not the same ascorresponding features of FIGS. 2a and 2b are labelled with the samereference numerals but incremented by 100; corresponding descriptionsshould nevertheless be taken to apply.

The smartphone 200 of FIG. 5a is similar to the smartphone of FIGS. 2 to4, however, in contrast to the smartphone 100 of FIGS. 2 to 4, a giventouch input is detected as the first gesture type in the non-zoomed-inmode and the fourth gesture type in the zoomed-in mode, whereas thegiven touch input is detected as the first gesture type in thenon-zoomed-in mode and the third gesture type in the zoomed-in mode inthe smartphone 100 of FIGS. 2 to 4.

FIG. 5a shows an image in a zoomed-in mode, similarly to FIG. 4a . Ascan be seen in FIG. 5b , when the touch input 208 is moved from thefirst location 110 to a further location 212 along a path 214 in thesame direction as the path 114 of FIG. 4b , the display characteristicof the image is not adjusted. Instead, the image is scrolled, forexample moved upwards and partly off the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay. Scrolling may for example refer to a sliding movement of theimage across the touch-sensitive electronic display. The touch input 208of FIG. 5b corresponds to the first gesture type as it has a largercomponent of motion along the first axis 116. However, as the touchinput 208 is received during the zoomed-in display mode, it is detectedas a fourth gesture type. In this example, the fourth gesture typecorresponds with a command to scroll or alter a position of the image orother elements displayed on the touch-sensitive electronic display. Inother examples, though, the fourth gesture type may correspond withother commands.

In order to alter the display characteristic of the image in thezoomed-in mode, an additional touch input must be applied in the exampleof FIGS. 5 and 6. This is illustrated in FIGS. 6a and 6b , which showsthe smartphone 200 of FIGS. 5a and 5b . Features of FIGS. 6a and 6b thatare the same as corresponding features of FIGS. 2a and 2b are labelledwith the same reference numerals; corresponding descriptions should betaken to apply. Features of FIGS. 6a and 6b that are similar to but notthe same as corresponding features of FIGS. 2a and 2b are labelled withthe same reference numerals but incremented by 100; correspondingdescriptions should nevertheless be taken to apply.

FIG. 6a shows the image being displayed in the zoomed-in mode. A touchinput 108 is received on the second area. FIG. 6b illustrates the touchinput 108 being moved from the first location 110 to the second location112 along the path 114. The touch input 108 and the movement of thetouch input 108 is the same as the touch input 108 of FIGS. 4a and 4b .However, in the example of FIGS. 6a and 6b , an additional touch input122 is also received on the second area in addition to the touch input108. The touch input 108 and the additional touch input 122 are detectedas the third gesture type. The display characteristic of the image isadjusted, during the display the image, in dependence on at least onedetected characteristic of the motion of the touch input, as describedwith reference to FIGS. 4a and 4b . In examples such as this, detectinga touch input as a third gesture type may include detecting a largercomponent of motion of the touch input 108 along the one of the firstand second axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display, for examplealong the same axis along which the touch input has a larger componentof motion for the first gesture type in the non-zoomed-in mode.

Thus, in examples such as that of FIGS. 6a and 6b , a multi-touch inputis used to differentiate the third gesture type from the fourth gesturetype, for example by associating the third gesture type with an inputincluding a combination of a touch input and an additional touch input.This provides additional flexibility and options for image manipulationfor the user. For example, a predetermined sub-area of thetouch-sensitive electronic display may be allocated for receiving theadditional touch input. In such cases, the detecting the additionaltouch input may include detecting the additional touch input on thepredetermined sub-area. The predetermined sub-area may be part of thefirst area or part of the second area or outside one or both of thefirst and second areas. Suitable locations for the predeterminedsub-area include a corner of the touch-sensitive electronic display suchas a bottom corner. These locations may be used in cases in which thetouch-sensitive electronic display is intended to be used in a landscapeorientation or in other orientations of the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay.

The size of the predetermined sub-area may be selected based oncharacteristics of an intended user of the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay. For example, the predetermined sub-area may correspond with orapproximately equal the size of an average human thumb, for example withan area which is within plus or minus 10%, plus or minus 20%, plus orminus 30%, plus or minus 40%, or plus or minus 50% of the surface areaof an average portion of a human thumb that would come into contact withthe touch-sensitive electronic display when a human touches the display.

An additional touch input corresponding with the third gesture type inan example of a multi-touch input may therefore involve holding ortouching a predetermined sub-area of the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay located in the bottom left corner of the touch-sensitiveelectronic display with the thumb on the same hand as used for holdingthe touch-sensitive electronic display (which is typically the lefthand, for example where the touch-sensitive electronic display is partof a smartphone). The right hand can then be used to apply the touchinput, for example to adjust the display characteristic of the image orto switch between images displayed on the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay. Either one or more fingers or the thumb of the right hand canbe used for applying the touch input.

In a further example of a multi-touch input, an additional touch inputcorresponding with the third gesture type may be input by the left thumbas explained above. However, the touch-sensitive electronic display maybe held by the right hand and the thumb of the right hand may be usedfor applying the touch input.

In yet further examples in which there is a multi-touch input, theactions of the left and right hands in the examples above may bereversed.

A multi-touch input may also be used in other modes, such as anon-zoomed-in mode. FIG. 7 shows such an example. Features of FIG. 7 thesame as those of FIGS. 2a and 2b are labelled with the same referencenumerals; corresponding descriptions should be taken to apply. Thesmartphone 300 of FIG. 7 is similar to the smartphone 100 of FIGS. 2aand 2b except that it is configured to detect a different first gesturetype than the smartphone 100 of FIGS. 2a and 2b . In such examples,detecting the first gesture type may include detecting a plurality oftouch inputs comprising the touch input. For example, FIG. 7 shows thetouch input 108 and an additional touch input 122; the touch input 108and the additional touch input 122 are the same as the respective touchinput 108 and the additional touch input 122 described with reference toFIGS. 6a and 6b , except that they are in the zoomed-out mode in FIG. 7.The touch input 108 is moved along the path 114 to adjust the displaycharacteristic of the image, similarly to the example of FIGS. 6a and 6b.

An overview of examples of internal components for the computing device,such as the smartphones 100, 200, 300 of FIGS. 2 to 7, is provided belowwith reference to FIG. 8.

The computing device of FIG. 8 includes a network interface 124. Thenetwork interface 124 allows image files to be retrieved from a serverdevice 126. The network interface 124 of the computing device mayinclude software and/or hardware components, such as a virtual networkinterface, an Ethernet port, a software driver and/or communicationsstack interacting with network hardware.

Storage 128 of the computing device in the example of FIG. 8 stores data130 received at the network interface 124. The data 130 in this exampleincludes an image file including image data representing an image fordisplay. The storage 128 may include at least one of volatile memory,such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) and non-volatile memory, such asRead Only Memory (ROM) or a solid state drive (SSD) such as Flashmemory. The storage 128 in examples may include further storage devices,for example magnetic, optical or tape media, compact disc (CD), digitalversatile disc (DVD) or other data storage media. The storage 128 may beremovable or non-removable from the computing device.

At least one processor 132 is communicatively coupled to the storage 128in the computing device of FIG. 8. The at least one processor 132 in theexample of FIG. 8 may be a microprocessor, a general-purpose processor,a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any suitable combination thereof designed toperform the functions described herein. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. The at least one processor 132 may also be or include atleast one graphics processing unit (GPU) such as an NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX980, available from NVIDIA®, 2701 San Tomas Expressway, Santa Clara,Calif. 95050, USA, although other processors are possible. For example,in one case the computing device may include a thin terminal withgraphics processing capabilities; in other cases the computing devicemay include a computing device comprising at least one centralprocessing unit (CPU) and at least one graphics processing unit.

The storage 128 in the example of FIG. 8 includes an image displayingmodule 134 configured to display the image on the first area of thetouch-sensitive electronic display 102, and a gesture type detectionmodule 136 configured to detect, from a touch input on the second areaof the touch-sensitive electronic display, a gesture type which is oneof a plurality of detectable gesture types. As described above, theplurality of detectable gesture types include a first gesture type and asecond gesture type, detecting the first gesture type includingdetecting a larger component of motion of the touch input along one ofthe first and second axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display thanalong the other of the first and second axes of the touch-sensitiveelectronic display and detecting the second gesture type includingdetecting a larger component of motion of the touch input along theother of the first and second axes of the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay than along the one of the first and second axes of thetouch-sensitive electronic display.

The storage 128 in this example further includes a displaycharacteristic adjustment module 138 configured to, if the detectedgesture type is the first gesture type, adjust, during displaying theimage on the first area of the electronic display, a displaycharacteristic of the image in dependence on at least one detectedcharacteristic of the motion of the touch input. The storage 128 alsoincludes an image switching module 140 configured to, if the detectedgesture type is the second gesture type, cease displaying the image onthe touch-sensitive electronic display 102 and display a further imageon the touch-sensitive electronic display 102.

One or more of the image displaying module 134, the gesture typedetection module 136, the display characteristic adjustment module 138,or the image switching module 140 may be implemented as hardware.Alternatively, one or more of these modules may be implemented assoftware, or as a combination of hardware and software. Where at leastone of these modules is at least partly implemented as software, thestorage 128 may include computer program instructions configured to,when processed by the at least one processor 132, implement therespective module. The computer program instructions may be stored in anaccessible non-transitory computer-readable medium and loaded intomemory, for example the storage 128, to implement the respective module.In examples, the storage 128 and the computer program instructions areconfigured to, with a graphics processing unit of the storage 128,implement at least one of the modules. For example, use of the graphicsprocessing unit may allow for parallel processing of multiple operationsfor adjustment of the display characteristic of the image, improving thespeed at which the display characteristic is altered.

The components of the computing device in the example of FIG. 8 areinterconnected using a systems bus 142. This allows data to betransferred between the various components. For example, an image fileincluding data representing the image may be stored in the storage 128and subsequently transmitted via the systems bus 142 from the storage128 to a display interface 144 for transfer to the touch-sensitiveelectronic display 102 for display. The display interface 144 mayinclude a display port and/or an internal electronics interface, e.g.where the touch-sensitive electronic display 102 is part of thecomputing device such as a display screen of a smartphone. Therefore,when instructed by the at least one processor 132 via the displayinterface 144, the touch-sensitive electronic display 102 will displayan image based on the image data.

The touch-sensitive electronic display 102 is for example a conventionaltouchscreen. For example, the touch-sensitive electronic display 102 maybe or include a resistive touchscreen panel or a capacitive touchscreenpanel configured to detect one or more touches of an input or proximityof the input that occur at various locations on the panel to producesignals representative of a location of the input for each of thetouches.

The above examples are to be understood as illustrative examples.Further examples are envisaged. In the examples of FIGS. 2 to 7, touchinput with a larger component in the vertical direction is considered tocorrespond to the first gesture type. However, in other examples, touchinput with a larger component in the vertical direction may correspondwith the second gesture type and the first gesture type may correspondwith a touch input with a larger component in the horizontal direction.In yet further directions, the first and second axes may not behorizontal and vertical. For example, the first and second axes may berotated with respect to vertical and horizontal axes.

In the example of FIG. 8, an image file including image datarepresenting an image is received from a server device. However, inother examples, the image file may be stored on storage of the computingdevice. For example, the image may have been captured by an imagecapture device such as a camera of or coupled to the computing device ormay have been downloaded or transferred to the computing device fromother storage than storage of a server device, and stored as the imagefile on storage of the computing device.

Examples described above refer to adjusting the tone mapping strength byadjusting the ORMIT α parameter, which is obtained based on the at leastone characteristic of the motion of the touch input. However, in otherexamples, the tone mapping strength may be derived by further processingof a motion characteristic value obtained based on the at least onecharacteristic of the motion of the touch input. The motioncharacteristic value is for example a value between 0 and 1, whichdepends on a length and/or direction of motion of the touch input. Forexample, a tone mapping strength applied to the image may be derived bycombining the motion characteristic value with a further tone mappingstrength parameter to generate a combined tone mapping strength. Forexample, whereas the motion characteristic value depends on the touchinput, which e.g. corresponds with a user preference, the further tonemapping strength parameter may be depend on a different parameter orproperty. For example, the further tone mapping strength parameter maydepend on a predetermined value; a display property of a display deviceconfigured to display an output image based on the output image data; anambient light level; or an application property of an application foruse in displaying the output image based on the output image data.

The pre-determined value may be, for example, a value that a contentcreator or image supplier has determined is an optimal or desired tonemapping to obtain a desired output image for viewing. For example, thecreator or supplier of the image may have ascertained that the imagequality of the image is optimal in particular viewing conditions with aparticular reference tone mapping strength parameter used as an input tothe tone mapping. This may be determined for example by adjusting thetone mapping strength to adjust the strength of the tone mapping appliedto the image, analyzing the display quality of the output image afterthe application of the tone mapping, for example by eye orelectronically, and storing a reference tone mapping strengthcorresponding with the optimal display quality as part of the inputimage file as further tone mapping strength data representing thefurther tone mapping strength parameter. The viewing conditions thefurther tone mapping strength parameter is optimized for may berelatively dark viewing conditions. In such cases, the further tonemapping strength parameter may be zero, for example such that the tonemapping does not alter the input image data, so that the output imageand the input image are the same. In other cases, the reference tonemapping strength parameter may be non-zero. The further tone mappingstrength parameter may depend on the content of the image. For example,where the image includes human skin, the further tone mapping strengthparameter may be non-zero as human skin has a limited brightness, andtherefore may be enhanced by tone mapping, for example to amplify detailin the skin.

The display property of the display device, such as one of thetouch-sensitive electronic displays 100, 200, 300 described above, maybe any property, characteristic or attribute that may affect the displayquality of the image. For example, the display property may be aluminance of the display device, e.g. a maximum brightness or intensityof light emitted from a backlight for illuminating pixels of the displaydevice or a maximum pixel luminance, or a display device type.Typically, a different amount of tone mapping is required for differenttypes of display device, for example liquid crystal display devices(LCDs) compared with organic light emitting diode display devices(OLEDs), to achieve a given display quality of an image, for examplewith a given amount of detail visible in dark regions of the image.

Where the further tone mapping strength parameter depends on the ambientlight level, the ambient light level can be measured for example by anambient light sensor. The ambient light sensor may be coupled to orintegral with the computing device. Such an ambient light sensor mayinclude one or more photodetectors; the use of multiple photodetectorsmay increase the reliability of the measurement of diffuse ambientlight.

As explained above, in some cases the further tone mapping strengthparameter may depend on an application property of an application foruse in displaying the image. An application property is for example aproperty specified by the developer, manufacturer or designer of theapplication that is intended for use in displaying the image, forexample a browser or other application capable of displaying images. Theapplication property may for example specify that images should bedisplayed with a particular tone mapping, for example where it isdesired to give images displayed using the application a particular“look”. For example, the application developers may wish to displayhyper-realistic images, with a high dynamic range, or murky images, withlittle detail visible, with a low dynamic range.

The motion characteristic value and the further tone mapping strengthparameter may be combined in various ways, as the skilled person willappreciate. For example, the motion characteristic value may be orcorrespond with a particular, e.g. a pre-determined, gain G. The gain Gmay be expressed as:

$\begin{matrix}{G = \frac{D_{TM}}{D}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

where D is the dynamic range of the image data before tone mapping andD_TM is a pre-determined output dynamic range to be obtained after thetone mapping.

The input value α to the tone mapping may be derived from the gain G asfollows:

$\begin{matrix}{\alpha = \frac{G - 1}{G_{{ma}\; x} - 1}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

where G is the gain defined in (2), and Gmax is the maximum gainachievable with a maximum tone mapping strength.

where G is the gain defined in (2), and G_(max) is the maximum gainachievable with a maximum tone mapping strength.

Where the motion characteristic value and the further tone mappingstrength parameter are combined, both the motion characteristic valueand the further tone mapping strength parameter may correspond withdifferent respective gain values. In such cases, the gain associatedwith the motion characteristic value, denoted as a first gain G₁, andthe gain associated with the further tone mapping strength parameter,denoted as a second gain G₂, may be multiplied together as follows toobtain a combined gain denoted as G_(C):G _(C) =G ₁ *G ₂  (4)

Similarly, the further tone mapping strength parameter may be combinedwith more than one set of further tone mapping strength parameters bymultiplying the first gain G₂ with the respective gain correspondingwith each of set of further tone mapping strength parameters.

The combined strength parameter α_(C) may then be calculated as:

$\begin{matrix}{\alpha_{C} = \frac{G_{C} - 1}{G_{{ma}\; x} - 1}} & (5)\end{matrix}$

As the skilled person will appreciate, other methods or algorithms maybe used to combine the motion characteristic value and the further tonemapping strength parameter. For example where the motion characteristicvalue equals a tone mapping strength parameter α₁ and the further tonemapping strength parameter equals a different tone mapping strengthparameter α₂, the combined strength parameter αC may be obtained bymultiplying α₁ and α₂.

The motion characteristic value and the further tone mapping strengthparameter may be combined using software, hardware or a combination ofsoftware and hardware.

In other examples, a method sometimes referred to as alpha-blending maybe used to tone map the image. As the skilled person will appreciate,alpha-blending typically involves overlaying or combining of twoversions of the same image: a first version of the image with no tonemapping applied (or a lower or different amount of tone mapping than thesecond version of the image) and one with non-zero tone mapping applied,which may be with maximal tone mapping applied, for example. A relativecontribution of the first and second version of the image to the imageas displayed on the touch-sensitive electronic display may depend on theat least one detected characteristic of the motion of the touch input(e.g. the motion characteristic value referred to above).

In such examples, the tone mapping strength may be a combined tonemapping strength parameter (e.g. obtained from a combination of themotion characteristic value and the further tone mapping strengthparameter as described above), or the motion characteristic valueitself. Where the tone mapping strength is the combined tone mappingstrength parameter, ac, the pixel intensity values of pixels of theimage may be modified as:I _(out) =I ₁*(1−α_(C))+I ₂*α_(C)  (6)

where I_(out) is the output intensity value for the output image datarepresenting the image as displayed on the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay, I₁ is the pixel intensity value from the first version of theimage and I₂ is the pixel intensity value from the second version of theimage.

Other blending schemes are also possible. For example, the pixelintensity values may instead be modified as:I _(out)=√{square root over (I ₁ ²*(1−α_(C))+I ₂ ²*α_(C))}  (7)

where I_(out), I₁, I₂ and α_(C) are as previously defined.

In examples in which the touch input is detected to correspond to thefirst gesture type, this may be taken to be an indication that the tonemapping strength (or another display characteristic) is to vary. In suchexamples, first image data representing a first version of the imagewith a first amount of tone mapping, which may be spatially-variant, maybe stored in a first frame buffer, and second image data representing asecond version of the image with a second amount of tone mapping, whichmay also be spatially-variant, may be stored in a second frame buffer.The first amount of spatially-variant tone mapping is, for example, zeroand the second amount of spatially-variant tone mapping is, for example,non-zero, and may be a maximal amount of tone mapping.

By storing the first image data in a first frame buffer and the secondimage data in a second frame buffer, various different amounts ofalpha-blending can readily be applied to the first image data and thesecond image data. This can allow for rapid changing of the tone mappingapplied to the image, for example based on the touch input.

For example, a display characteristic adjustment module of the computingdevice may receive, for each of at least one additional frame fordisplay by the touch-sensitive electronic display, a respectiveadditional input value determined in dependence on at least onecharacteristic of the motion of the touch input. For example, eachadditional input value may correspond with a change in the motion of thetouch input within a predetermined time period, e.g. corresponding toone frame, compared with a previous time period. In this way, the usermay vary the tone mapping applied in each of the at least one additionalframe based on the touch input.

The display characteristic adjustment module may further be arranged togenerate, for each of the at least one additional frame, an additionalframe buffer storing additional output image data representing anadditional output image based on the first image data and the secondimage data, a relative contribution of the first image data and thesecond image data to the additional image data depending on theadditional input value for the respective frame.

In such examples, the image may therefore be displayed in a first frameand, in each of the at least one additional frame, the respectiveadditional output image may be displayed. In such cases, the at leastone additional frame are, for example, subsequent to the first frame.

This method for example allows each of the at least additional frame tobe associated with a different amount of alpha-blending of the firstversion of the image and the second version of the image, allowing thetone mapping of the image to be rapidly varied, as the image isdisplayed. For example, there is no need to re-retrieve the image datanor to recalculate or redo the tone mapping for each frame. Instead, itis merely necessary to recalculate the pixel intensities for the imageto be displayed based on the motion characteristic value and/or thefurther tone mapping strength parameter, for example by changing therelative contribution of the first version of the image and the secondversion of the image to the additional output image. This can beperformed rapidly, for example by a graphics processing unit of thecomputing device.

In yet further examples, the tone mapping controlled in dependence onthe at least one characteristic of the motion of the touch input may bea further tone mapping applied to an image that has already been tonemapped.

It is to be understood that any feature described in relation to any oneexample may be used alone, or in combination with other featuresdescribed, and may also be used in combination with one or more featuresof any other of the examples, or any combination of any other of theexamples. Furthermore, equivalents and modifications not described abovemay also be employed without departing from the scope of theaccompanying claims.

Further examples are described in accordance with the following numberedclauses:

Clause 1. A method comprising: displaying an image on a first area of atouch-sensitive electronic display, the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay comprising a first axis and a second axis which is orthogonal tothe first axis; receiving touch input on a second area of thetouch-sensitive electronic display, the second area comprising the firstarea; and detecting, from the touch input, a gesture type which is oneof a plurality of detectable gesture types, wherein the plurality ofdetectable gesture types comprise a first gesture type and a secondgesture type, wherein detecting the first gesture type comprisesdetecting a larger component of motion of the touch input along one ofthe first and second axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display thanalong the other of the first and second axes of the touch-sensitiveelectronic display and detecting the second gesture type comprisesdetecting a larger component of motion of the touch input along theother of the first and second axes of the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay than along the one of the first and second axes of thetouch-sensitive electronic display, and wherein: if the detected gesturetype is the first gesture type, the method comprises: adjusting, duringthe displaying the image, a display characteristic of the image independence on at least one detected characteristic of the motion of thetouch input; and if the detected gesture type is the second gesturetype, the method comprises: ceasing to display the image on thetouch-sensitive electronic display; and displaying a further image onthe touch-sensitive electronic display.

Clause 2. The method according to clause 1, wherein the plurality ofdetectable gesture types comprise a third gesture type, wherein thefirst gesture type and the second gesture type are detectable in a firstdisplay mode for the image and wherein the third gesture type isdetectable in a second display mode for the image, and wherein: if thedetected gesture type is the third gesture type, the method comprisesadjusting, during the displaying the image, the display characteristicof the image in dependence on at least one detected characteristic ofthe motion of the touch input.

Clause 3. The method according to clause 2, wherein the first mode is anon-zoomed-in display mode and the second mode is a zoomed-in displaymode.

Clause 4. The method according to clause 3, wherein the plurality ofdetectable gesture types comprise a fourth gesture type which isdetectable during the zoomed-in display mode, and wherein: a given touchinput, if received during the non-zoomed-in display mode, is detected asthe first gesture type and, if received during the zoomed-in displaymode, is detected as the fourth gesture type; and detecting the thirdgesture type comprises detecting an additional touch input compared todetecting the first gesture type.

Clause 5. The method according to any one of clauses 2 to 4, whereindetecting the third gesture type comprises detecting a larger componentof motion of the touch input along the one of the first and second axesof the touch-sensitive electronic display than along the other of thefirst and second axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display.

Clause 6. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 4, whereindetecting the first gesture type comprises detecting a plurality oftouch inputs comprising the touch input.

Clause 7. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 6, whereinceasing to display the image on the touch-sensitive electronic displaycomprises moving the image off the touch-sensitive electronic displayalong the other of the first and second axes of the touch-sensitiveelectronic display.

Clause 8. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 7, wherein thesecond area is coincident with the first area.

Clause 9. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 8, comprising:storing an output display characteristic based on the adjusting thedisplay characteristic of the image; and displaying a subsequent imagewith a subsequent image display characteristic based on the outputdisplay characteristic.

Clause 10. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 9,comprising:

storing an output display characteristic based on the adjusting thedisplay characteristic of the image in an image file comprising imagedata representing the image.

Clause 11. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 10, whereinthe at least one detected characteristic of the motion of the touchinput comprises at least one of: a length of the touch input; or adirection of the touch input.

Clause 12. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 11, whereinthe display characteristic comprises at least one of: a tone mappingstrength of a tone mapping applied to the image; a brightness of theimage; a gamma correction strength of a gamma correction applied to theimage; or a saturation of the image.

Clause 13. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 12, whereinthe first axis is a substantially vertical axis and the second axis is asubstantially horizontal axis, detecting the first gesture typecomprising detecting the larger component of the motion of the touchinput along the first axis and detecting the second gesture typecomprising detecting the larger component of the motion of the touchinput along the second axis.

Clause 14. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 13, whereinthe image is in an 8-bit JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) formator a more than 8-bit JPEG XT format.

Clause 15. A computing system comprising: a computing device; and atouch-sensitive electronic display coupled to the computing device, thetouch-sensitive electronic display comprising a first axis, a secondaxis which is orthogonal to the first axis, a first area and a secondarea, the second area comprising the first area, wherein the computingdevice comprises: storage; at least one processor communicativelycoupled to the storage; an image displaying module configured to:display the image on the first area of the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay; a gesture type detection module configured to: detect, from atouch input on the second area of the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay, a gesture type which is one of a plurality of detectablegesture types, the plurality of detectable gesture types comprising afirst gesture type and a second gesture type, detecting the firstgesture type comprising detecting a larger component of motion of thetouch input along one of the first and second axes of thetouch-sensitive electronic display than along the other of the first andsecond axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display and detecting thesecond gesture type comprising detecting a larger component of motion ofthe touch input along the other of the first and second axes of thetouch-sensitive electronic display than along the one of the first andsecond axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display; a displaycharacteristic adjustment module configured to, if the detected gesturetype is the first gesture type: adjust, during displaying the image onthe first area of the electronic display, a display characteristic ofthe image in dependence on at least one detected characteristic of themotion of the touch input; and an image switching module configured to,if the detected gesture type is the second gesture type: ceasedisplaying the image on the touch-sensitive electronic display; anddisplay a further image on the touch-sensitive electronic display.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: displaying an image on afirst area of a touch-sensitive electronic display, the touch-sensitiveelectronic display comprising a first axis and a second axis which isorthogonal to the first axis; receiving touch input on a second area ofthe touch-sensitive electronic display, the second area comprising thefirst area; detecting, from the touch input, a gesture type which is oneof a plurality of detectable gesture types, wherein the plurality ofdetectable gesture types comprise a first gesture type and a secondgesture type, wherein detecting the first gesture type comprisesdetecting a larger component of motion of the touch input along one ofthe first and second axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display thanalong the other of the first and second axes of the touch-sensitiveelectronic display and detecting the second gesture type comprisesdetecting a larger component of motion of the touch input along theother of the first and second axes of the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay than along the one of the first and second axes of thetouch-sensitive electronic display, wherein: if the gesture type isdetected to be the first gesture type, the method comprises: adjusting,during the displaying the image, a display characteristic of the imagein dependence on at least one detected characteristic of the motion ofthe touch input, wherein the display characteristic comprises a tonemapping strength of a tone mapping applied to the image, whereinapplying the tone mapping to the image comprises applying alpha-blendingto the image, the alpha-blending comprising combining a first version ofthe image with a second version of the image, wherein: the first versionof the image represents the image with a first amount of tone mappingapplied; and the second version of the image represents the image with asecond amount of tone mapping applied, wherein a relative contributionof the first version of the image and the second version of the image tothe image as displayed on the first area of the touch-sensitiveelectronic display depends on the at least one detected characteristicof the motion of the touch input; storing, in storage, an output displaycharacteristic based on the adjusting the display characteristic of theimage; and after displaying the image: obtaining subsequent image datarepresenting a subsequent image; retrieving the output displaycharacteristic from the storage; and displaying the subsequent imagewith a subsequent image display characteristic based on the outputdisplay characteristic; and if the gesture type is detected to be thesecond gesture type, the method comprises: ceasing to display the imageon the touch-sensitive electronic display; and displaying a furtherimage on the touch-sensitive electronic display.
 2. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the plurality of detectable gesture types comprisesa third gesture type, wherein the first gesture type and the secondgesture type are detectable in a first display mode for the image andwherein the third gesture type is detectable in a second display modefor the image, and wherein: if the gesture type is detected to be thethird gesture type, the method comprises adjusting, during thedisplaying the image, the display characteristic of the image independence on at least one detected characteristic of the motion of thetouch input.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first modeis a non-zoomed-in display mode and the second mode is a zoomed-indisplay mode.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the pluralityof detectable gesture types comprises a fourth gesture type which isdetectable during the zoomed-in display mode, and wherein: a given touchinput, if received during the non-zoomed-in display mode, is detected asthe first gesture type and, if received during the zoomed-in displaymode, is detected as the fourth gesture type; and detecting the thirdgesture type comprises detecting an additional touch input compared todetecting the first gesture type.
 5. The method according to claim 2,wherein detecting the third gesture type comprises detecting a largercomponent of motion of the touch input along the one of the first andsecond axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display than along theother of the first and second axes of the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein detecting the firstgesture type comprises detecting a plurality of touch inputs comprisingthe touch input.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein ceasing todisplay the image on the touch-sensitive electronic display comprisesmoving the image off the touch-sensitive electronic display along theother of the first and second axes of the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second area iscoincident with the first area.
 9. The method according to claim 1,comprising storing an output display characteristic based on theadjusting the display characteristic of the image in an image filecomprising image data representing the image.
 10. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the at least one detected characteristic of themotion of the touch input comprises at least one of: a length of thetouch input; or a direction of the touch input.
 11. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the display characteristic comprises at least oneof: a brightness of the image; a gamma correction strength of a gammacorrection applied to the image; or a saturation of the image.
 12. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the image is in an 8-bit JPEG(Joint Photographic Experts Group) format or a more than 8-bit JPEG XTformat.
 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the tone mappingstrength applied to the image is a combined tone mapping strengthparameter generated by combining a motion characteristic value with afurther tone mapping strength parameter, wherein: the motioncharacteristic value depends on the at least one detected characteristicof the motion of the touch input; and the further tone mapping strengthparameter depends on a different property to the at least one detectedcharacteristic of the motion of the touch input.
 14. The methodaccording to claim 13, wherein the further tone mapping strengthparameter depends on at least one of: a predetermined value; a displayproperty of the touch-sensitive electronic display; an ambient lightlevel; or an application property of an application for use indisplaying the image.
 15. The method according to claim 1, comprising:storing first image data representing the first version of the image ina first frame buffer; and storing second image data representing thesecond version of the image in a second frame buffer.
 16. The methodaccording to claim 15, comprising: receiving, for each of at least oneadditional frame for display by the touch-sensitive electronic display,a respective additional input value, wherein the additional input valuecorresponds with a change in the motion of the touch input within apredetermined time period; and generating, for each of the at least oneadditional frame, an additional frame buffer storing additional outputimage data representing an additional output image based on the firstinput image data and the second input image data, a relativecontribution of the first image data and the second image data to theadditional output image data depending on the additional input value forthe respective frame.
 17. A computing system comprising: a computingdevice; and a touch-sensitive electronic display coupled to thecomputing device, the touch-sensitive electronic display comprising afirst axis, a second axis which is orthogonal to the first axis, a firstarea and a second area, the second area comprising the first area,wherein the computing device comprises: storage; at least one processorcommunicatively coupled to the storage; an image displaying moduleconfigured to display the image on the first area of the touch-sensitiveelectronic display; a gesture type detection module configured todetect, from a touch input on the second area of the touch-sensitiveelectronic display, a gesture type which is one of a plurality ofdetectable gesture types, the plurality of detectable gesture typescomprising a first gesture type and a second gesture type, wherein:detecting the first gesture type comprising detecting a larger componentof motion of the touch input along one of the first and second axes ofthe touch-sensitive electronic display than along the other of the firstand second axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display, and detectingthe second gesture type comprising detecting a larger component ofmotion of the touch input along the other of the first and second axesof the touch-sensitive electronic display than along the one of thefirst and second axes of the touch-sensitive electronic display; adisplay characteristic adjustment module configured to: if the gesturetype is detected to be the first gesture type, adjust, during displayingthe image, a display characteristic of the image in dependence on atleast one detected characteristic of the motion of the touch input,wherein the display characteristic comprises a tone mapping strength ofa tone mapping applied to the image, wherein applying the tone mappingto the image comprises applying alpha-blending to the image, thealpha-blending comprising combining a first version of the image with asecond version of the image, wherein: the first version of the imagerepresents the image with a first amount of tone mapping applied; andthe second version of the image represents the image with a secondamount of tone mapping applied, wherein a relative contribution of thefirst version of the image and the second version of the image to theimage as displayed on the first area of the touch-sensitive electronicdisplay depends on the at least one detected characteristic of themotion of the touch input; and store, in the storage, an output displaycharacteristic based on the adjusting the display characteristic of theimage; and an image switching module configured to, if the gesture typeis detected to be the second gesture type: cease displaying the image onthe touch-sensitive electronic display; and display a further image onthe touch-sensitive electronic display, wherein the image displayingmodule is further configured to, if the display characteristic of theimage is adjusted during displaying the image, and after displaying theimage: obtain subsequent image data representing a subsequent image;retrieve the output display characteristic from the storage; and displaythe subsequent image with a subsequent image display characteristicbased on the output display characteristic.
 18. The computing systemaccording to claim 17, wherein the plurality of detectable gesture typescomprises a third gesture type, wherein the first gesture type and thesecond gesture type are detectable in a first display mode for theimage, using the gesture type detection module, and wherein the thirdgesture type is detectable in a second display mode for the image, usingthe gesture type detection module, and wherein: if the gesture type isdetected to be the third gesture type, the display characteristicadjustment module is configured to adjust, during the displaying theimage, the display characteristic of the image in dependence on at leastone detected characteristic of the motion of the touch input.
 19. Thecomputing system according to claim 18, wherein the first mode is anon-zoomed-in display mode and the second mode is a zoomed-in displaymode.
 20. The computing system according to claim 19, wherein theplurality of detectable gesture types comprises a fourth gesture typewhich is detectable during the zoomed-in display mode, and wherein thegesture type detection module is configured to: detect a given touchinput, if received during the non-zoomed-in display mode, as the firstgesture type and, if received during the zoomed-in display mode, as thefourth gesture type, wherein detecting the third gesture type comprisesdetecting an additional touch input compared to detecting the firstgesture type.